Unique, Odd, or Interesting Signs aka The good, the bad, and the ugly

[jay8g]

...I noticed a little piece of paper or whatever attached to it now that says LOCATE on it. I'm going to guess that DOT picked up the sign, but what is this LOCATE thing about? I would guess it's something for DOT to locate the sign, but that's obvious, and the obvious answer isn't always the correct answer, so maybe it means something else.

That would be for utility locates (the "call before you dig" system). Normally you'll see "LOCATE" (or just "LOC") painted on the ground, but I guess a sign like that works too.

[ClassicHasClass]

Very old MA 8 sign on Middle Road in Clarksburg, MA:

The arrows are even more impressive than the shield.

[freebrickproductions]

Aw, man! I'm doing a little more FL 145 research to see if I can or should add more details to the new infobox, and instead of a standard bi-directional arrow warning sign at the south end of the intersection with Madison CR 591, you've got these things.

Reminds me of what Limestone County, AL, likes/liked to do.

Not a lot of these giant wrong way signs in Washington. Interstate 90 eastbound Exit 52 ramp: https://maps.app.goo.gl/dfvr5r1NBqrKJaZw9 I can't tell if the one on the left was intentionally covered for some reason or if it's just faded.

Looks faded to me. Zooming in on it, you can just about make-out the letters, and spot a bit of the original red at the top edge. 2019 imagery shows the letters on it a bit better. It seems that, for whatever reason, the left-hand one wasn't replaced when the right-hand one was.

[wanderer2575]

An interesting one near me this month:  Covering the cardinal directions and not the control cities on a sign for closed ramps:

[DRMan]

Very old MA 8 sign on Middle Road in Clarksburg, MA:

The arrows are even more impressive than the shield.

Clarksburg is so out of the way (far NW corner of Mass.) that some folks in MassDOT may not know it exists. Its roadgeek claim to fame is the Famous Hairpin Turn on MA 2 -- the turn itself is in Clarksburg but both approaches are in North Adams, which leads to this situation where you pass the same town line twice (click yourself around the curve to see what I mean):

https://maps.app.goo.gl/qJCRJ3k3Wefpp4bq8

[kphoger]

Is this regulatory or something?

[Rothman]

Very old MA 8 sign on Middle Road in Clarksburg, MA:

The arrows are even more impressive than the shield.

Clarksburg is so out of the way (far NW corner of Mass.) that some folks in MassDOT may not know it exists. Its roadgeek claim to fame is the Famous Hairpin Turn on MA 2 -- the turn itself is in Clarksburg but both approaches are in North Adams, which leads to this situation where you pass the same town line twice (click yourself around the curve to see what I mean):

https://maps.app.goo.gl/qJCRJ3k3Wefpp4bq8

Well, yeah...I mean, I took the photo and was there...in Clarksburg.

It's also unfortunate the town line sign at the hairpin curve is being obscured by overgrowth.  Used to hang out up there with friends when I was in high school and we were bored on long weekend nights...

I was also taken aback by Clarksburg State Park charging $20 for an entrance fee for out-of-staters.  I guess they really want to keep that pond available for locals now.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Is this regulatory or something?

Not sure. It looks as if it was placed there at the behest of environmental/conservation minded folks who want to inform the public about the presence of the basin.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Very old MA 8 sign on Middle Road in Clarksburg, MA:

The arrows are even more impressive than the shield.

Love the sign and the arrows. Hope someone collects it if/when they are replaced.

Clarksburg is so out of the way (far NW corner of Mass.) that some folks in MassDOT may not know it exists. Its roadgeek claim to fame is the Famous Hairpin Turn on MA 2 -- the turn itself is in Clarksburg but both approaches are in North Adams, which leads to this situation where you pass the same town line twice (click yourself around the curve to see what I mean):

https://maps.app.goo.gl/qJCRJ3k3Wefpp4bq8

I'm sure someone in MassDOT knows it exists, at least on paper. They may not have actually visited, though. I love the hairpin turn, especially during foliage season. Are the views at the Golden Eagle better than the Trail Overlook?

[kphoger]

Is this regulatory or something?

Not sure. It looks as if it was placed there at the behest of environmental/conservation minded folks who want to inform the public about the presence of the basin.

It's a black-on-white rectangle, therefore I must assume that I'm required by law to do something for the entire 13 square-miles.  But just what, exactly, I still don't know.

FWIW, there are matching signs on a nearby intersecting road, with a different square-mileage shown.  And yet another one nearby with yet another different square-mileage shown.

It's possible that it really is regulatory, and that it's referring to some city code about the drainage area.  For example, a different drainage canal near me has a bunch of NO TRESPASSING signs, and this faded one nearby referred at some point to a local ordinance.  I just really don't know.

[Amaury]

Odd spacing between the numbers in this exit gore point for Exit 25 in both directions on Interstate 90 in Washington:

Westbound: https://maps.app.goo.gl/EPa8mUbTG942e8Rx5
Eastbound: https://maps.app.goo.gl/WLQ8pVFVeCP31b5A8

Additionally, at the same location, for the westbound entrance ramp, there used to be an exit ramp off of that entrance ramp that just looped back to Snoqualmie Parkway, which is weird, because you would have just gotten there by just taking Exit 25, so I don't know why they had that: https://maps.app.goo.gl/NvVAQ52fjhanFtH48

It's still there, but is not officially used, with the guide sign and everything taken down: https://maps.app.goo.gl/mqCs4Y89G3Sr9cFP7 And in 2022, it was barricaded: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gRPJzzgmzefuXYzN7

Here it is on the Snoqualmie Parkway end when it was active: https://maps.app.goo.gl/bwEgYsasTV2CCK3R9 And currently: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Gg8XLLvk1v8tYpH96 It also used to be barricaded, as seen by the 2021 and 2022 captures: https://maps.app.goo.gl/KAZFvhAEicYM9TFb7

[Big John]

^^ Wisconsin is also known for putting wide spaces between the digits on gore signs and exit tabs on some exits.

[roadman65]

Not unique to Kansans, but unique and odd to the rest of the world.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/53197503648/in/dateposted-public/
The way the two routes are signed at onramp with a shield for the US route and a guide for the interstate.

[Dirt Roads]

Is this regulatory or something?

Not sure. It looks as if it was placed there at the behest of environmental/conservation minded folks who want to inform the public about the presence of the basin.

It's a black-on-white rectangle, therefore I must assume that I'm required by law to do something for the entire 13 square-miles.  But just what, exactly, I still don't know.

FWIW, there are matching signs on a nearby intersecting road, with a different square-mileage shown.  And yet another one nearby with yet another different square-mileage shown.

It's possible that it really is regulatory, and that it's referring to some city code about the drainage area.  For example, a different drainage canal near me has a bunch of NO TRESPASSING signs, and this faded one nearby referred at some point to a local ordinance.  I just really don't know.

It looks like signage for an EPA-funded water-quality repair project for the Lower Arkansas River basin.  Each of the designated repair properties are flagged according to size and the runoff (or in the cases you are looking at, lack of runoff) calculated based on the distance (and elevation change) with respect to each tributary of the Lower Arkansas within the jurisdiction (in this case, Gypsum Creek within Sedgwick County).  You can find more information about the project here.  (The report is sloppy and requires lookup for a bunch of EPA and USGS acronyms).

[kphoger]

It looks like signage for an EPA-funded water-quality repair project

Which leaves the question:  Why is there road signage for an EPA-funded water-quality repair project?

[johnandmegh]

I assume it's an awareness thing - e.g. "the stuff you dump on the ground here will end up there" - similar to what was mentioned on this EPA page:

https://www.epa.gov/archive/epa/newsreleases/new-watershed-signs-remind-everyone-protect-great-lakes.html

[Dirt Roads]

It looks like signage for an EPA-funded water-quality repair project

Which leaves the question:  Why is there road signage for an EPA-funded water-quality repair project?

My guess is that an appropriate agency (say Sedgwick County Conservation District) was able to get the EPA project to fund the watershed signage, and instead of coordinating that signage with other districts feeding the Lower Arkansas watershed, they simply decided to post the site-specific information related to the particular stream (in this case, the runoff area related to Gypsum Creek).  I still can't figure out what type of region that the different area calculations refer to.

[jakeroot]

Am I really to assume that black-on-white signage is always regulatory?

In British Columbia, black-on-white signage is used for those signs welcoming you into cities:


Entering City of Delta, BC by Jacob Root, on Flickr

[Big John]

^^ White is allowed for street blades.  Massachusetts city limit signs are a decorative black on white.

[Revive 755]

A railroad crossing in Shelbyville, IL has some of the final inverted number of tracks signs left:
Southbound Cedar Street.
Northbound Cedar Street

The nearby crossing on Vine Street also had them.

[freebrickproductions]

A railroad crossing in Shelbyville, IL has some of the final inverted number of tracks signs left:
Southbound Cedar Street.
Northbound Cedar Street

The nearby crossing on Vine Street also had them.

Looks like those were originally signalized crossings.

IIRC, the CSX Memphis Subdivision has a pair in Humboldt, TN.

[CovalenceSTU]

A railroad crossing in Shelbyville, IL has some of the final inverted number of tracks signs left:
Southbound Cedar Street.
Northbound Cedar Street

The nearby crossing on Vine Street also had them.

There's other random things along that spur, like a sign that just says "TRACKS" (presumably the number fell off) and a stencil font on one crossing (also the # of tracks on the other side missing the paint).

Also, is the 3 tracks a long-standing error or was an extra spur removed a long time ago?

[kphoger]

My guess is that an appropriate agency (say Sedgwick County Conservation District) was able to get the EPA project to fund the watershed signage, and instead of coordinating that signage with other districts feeding the Lower Arkansas watershed, they simply decided to post the site-specific information related to the particular stream (in this case, the runoff area related to Gypsum Creek).

I guess I just think it's weird that there's signage for it at all.

Am I really to assume that black-on-white signage is always regulatory?

Generally, yes.  Of course, specific exceptions have been pointed out already, but such exceptions are only those that have been spelled out elsewhere in the MUTCD (subsection 02, below).

Chapter 1A – General

Section 1A.12 – Color Code

02 – [...] The meanings described in this Section are of a general nature. More specific assignments of colors are given in the individual Parts of this Manual relating to each class of devices.

Standard:

03 – The general meaning of the 13 colors shall be as follows:

A.  Black–regulation
B.  Blue–road user services guidance, tourist information, and evacuation route
C.  Brown–recreational and cultural interest area guidance
D.  Coral–unassigned
E.  Fluorescent Pink–incident management
F.  Fluorescent Yellow-Green–pedestrian warning, bicycle warning, playground warning, school bus and school warning
G.  Green–indicated movements permitted, direction guidance
H.  Light Blue–unassigned
I.  Orange–temporary traffic control
J.  Purple–lanes restricted to use only by vehicles with registered electronic toll collection (ETC) accounts
K.  Red–stop or prohibition
L.  White–regulation
M.  Yellow–warning

Massachusetts city limit signs are a decorative black on white.

That is one such specific exception granted by the MUTCD:

2H – General Information Signs

Section 2H.02 – General Information Signs (I Series)

Standard:

03 – Except for political boundary signs, General Information signs shall have white legends and borders on green rectangular-shaped backgrounds.

[freebrickproductions]

A railroad crossing in Shelbyville, IL has some of the final inverted number of tracks signs left:
Southbound Cedar Street.
Northbound Cedar Street

The nearby crossing on Vine Street also had them.

There's other random things along that spur, like a sign that just says "TRACKS" (presumably the number fell off) and a stencil font on one crossing (also the # of tracks on the other side missing the paint).

Also, is the 3 tracks a long-standing error or was an extra spur removed a long time ago?

Probably a third track that was removed long ago. Railroads ain't always super quick to update their Tracks signage when removing tracks through a crossing, especially if they leave the rails in the road itself, I've noticed.

[Dirt Roads]

Also, is the 3 tracks a long-standing error or was an extra spur removed a long time ago?

Probably a third track that was removed long ago. Railroads ain't always super quick to update their Tracks signage when removing tracks through a crossing, especially if they leave the rails in the road itself, I've noticed.

Additionally, many railroads take the legal stance that all of the warning devices and signage are the responsibility of the State (not necessarily the State's highway division).  Assuming that the railroad properly filed the removal of that particular track to the Federal Railroad Administration crossing inventory (along with a copy to the State, whoever that might be) then the railroad would presume that the State has been notified of the change and is required to contract with the railroad for the appropriate signage changes (which often are part of a larger contract).  It doesn't surprise me that many States have a problem with this concept, and simply allow the old signage to remain.

On the other hand, the railroads are particularly careful when adding a new track to the crossing.  The lack of a "number of tracks" plaque (R15-2P) is considered by railroads to be a serious safety issue that requires immediate attention.  An insufficient warning (such as displaying "2 Tracks" when there are actually "3 Tracks" or more) should be treated the same, but might not get the same level of urgency.